Organisms and Population/ Ecology Labs: The Salamander Lab- The purpose of this lab was to see how environmental changes and natural selection calls for certain mutations and adaptations. The summary of data is that for each round, mutations happened to our salamanders and an environmental change would happen and depending on that mutation it was either beneficial or harmful to the salamander. Towards the last round, if there was more than one salamander in a box, then they all died. This is because there wasn’t enough food and resources for the salamanders to have, which is called competitive exclusion. This was a valid experiment because it showed us that mutations facilitate the changes in species and that through environmental change, natural selection will choose the mutations that survive and which ones will die off.
Summary: Ecology is the distribution of organisms. In other words, why species are found where they are. Ecology is the scientific study of interactions of organisms with one another and with the physical and chemical environment. BIOMES
Distribution of Organisms:Why are species found where they are?
--Biotic Factors-living components of ecosystem
Ex: Adaptations, Interactions with other species, Behavior and Habitat Selection,
--A biotic Factors-non living components of ecosystems
Ex: Temperature, Water, Sunlight, Wind, Rocks and Soil, Disturbances
Ethologyis the study of behavior in natural habitat, thought that behavior was based on instinct not thought.
Comparative Psychology is the study of mental process underlying behavior
K=caring capacity-the maximum population an environment can support indefinitely.
1) if K>N(number of organisms in the population) then the population growth rate is positive
2) if K<N then the population growth rate is negative (population is OVER caring capacity)
3)if K=N then population levels off and growth stops
Logistic growthà S-curve
Factors that affect population growth-density independent and dependent factors, age structure (more young=greater growth), clutch size (more offspring= more growth), survivorship (high survivorship=greater growth)
Life History Strategies- traits that affect reproduction and survival
1) r-strategist=many offspring produced but small chance of survival
2) k-strategist=fewer offspring produced but each one has a high chance of survival
COMMUNITY ECOLOGY · Interaction between species- Competition (-,-) Predation (+,-) Mutualism (+,+) Commensalism (+,0) Parasitism (+,-) · Diversity is stability · Factors affecting diversity- environmental patchiness, keyston predators, competition · Succesion is the transision in the dominant species through time- (primary succession and secondary succesion)
ECOSYSTEMS-
Flow of energy (enters from the sun and exits as heat)- Trophic levels (producers and consumers) and the food web
Energy Transfers- Primary productivity and factors limiting productivity
Secondary productivity
Cycling of materials: Water cycle, Carbon cycle, Nitrogen cycle and processes like nitrogen fixation
HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE BIOSPHERE · Agriculutre (Industrialized agriculture and slash-and-burn agriculutre) · Global Warming(Greenhouse gases, Greenhouse effect) o The effects are melting of polar ice caps, change in precipitation patterns, and altered distributions and behaviors of species o Solutions are minimizing the burinin of fossil fuels · Depletion of the Ozone Layer (CFCs) o Impacts are incresed incidence of skin cancer and cataracts, and harm to crops and other primary producers o Solutions are CFCs are now banned · Acid Rain (SOx and NOx) o Impacts are lowers pH of soils and freshwater · Loss of Biodiversity
Vocabulary words and definitions
Ethology: study of behavior in natural habitat; believed that behavior was based on instinct, not thought
Comparative psychology: study of mental processes underlying behavior; emphasized controlled, lab experiments
Habituation- Loss of responsiveness to stimuli that lack information
Imprinting- Learning limited to specific time of life called the critical period
Associative learning- associating one stimulus with another
Classical Conditioning- associate an arbitrary stimulus with reward or punishment (Ivan Pavlov)
Operant conditioning: associating a behavior with a reward or punishment (B.F. Skinner)
Maturation- Change in behavior resulting from changes in development.
Behavioral Ecology: study of how behavior increases evolutionary fitness
Optimal Foraging Theory: animal foraging strategies optimize benefits (energy gained) and minimize cost (energy used to find food)
Agnostic behavior: competition between two members of same species (fighting for food, mates...)
Dominance Hierarchies- Randing of status; maintains order within a group to minimize fighting
Territoriality- an individual (or group) has its own territory, which it defends ("Get off my turf holmes!")
Pheromones: chemical signals smelled by others (common in insects and mammals)
Monogamy: One male and one female
Polygamy: Many females and one male
Altruism- sacrificing yourself for the good of anothre
Reciprocity- help another individual in order to receive help later
Populations- individuals of the same species in a particular location
Communities- individuals of different spevies in a partivular location
Ecosystems- all living and non-living factors in a particular location
Biosphere- portin of earth inhabited by life
Group Selection- groups that help each other do better than the group that do not
Kin Selection- helps relatives because they share genes
Population Density- number of individuals per unit area
Population Distribution- clumped, uniform, or random
R-strategists- have many offspring but each has a small probability of surviving
K-strategists-produce fewer offspring, but each has a high probability of surviving
Competition- when two species rely on similar resources
Niche-ecological role of a species-resources it uses how it fits into the food web
Resource partitioning- two species utilize different parts of their niche to avoid competition
Predation-when one benefits from the others losses
Mimicry- One prey species resembles another
Batesian Mimicry- harmless species resembles a poisonous species
Mullerian Mimicry- two harful species resemble each other (bees, wasps)
Symbiosis-close association between two species
Mutualism-two species benefit each other
Commensalism- one species helps another but it is neither helped nor harmed in the relationship
Parasitism- parasite gets nutrients from the host
Primary Succession-begins with no living organisms (volcanic island)
Secondary Succession-begins with a disturbed community (fire)
Climax community-stable persists for a long time usually dominated by K strategists
Facilitative Interactions- one community paves the way for the next
Inhibitory Interactions- one community prevents the establishment of another
Trophic Levels - feeding the relationships within an ecosystem
Primary Producers - autotrophs; capture light energy of the sun and convert it into usable chemical energy (i.e. photosynthesis)
Primary consumers - heterotrophs; herbivores
Secondary consumers - heterotrophs; carnivores that eat herbivores
Tertiary Consumers - heterotrophs; carnivores that eat other carnivores
Decomposers - heterotrophs; Feed on dead organisms; recycle nutrients
Food web - illustrates movement of energy, most of energy is eventually lost as heat
Primary productivity - amount of light energy converted to chemical energy (organic compounds) via photoynthesis
Secondary productivity - amount of chemical energy in consumer's food that is converted to their own new biomass.
Trophic efficiency- % of energy used to produce a new biomass
Production efficiency- % of energy used to produce new biomass
Biomagnification- Toxins get more concentrated as you move up the trophic levels.
Water Cyle- Evaporation->Condensation->Precipitation->Runoff-> Percolation
Carbon Cyle- Photosythesis and Cellular Respiration; Light Energy+6Co2+6H20-> C6H1206+ 6O2; C6H12O6 +6O2-> 6CO2 +6H2O+36ATP
Eutophication- addition of nutrients to water, resulting in raid algal growth
Fragmentation- breaks habitat into patches (e.g. building a ski slope in a forest.)
Overexploitation- Harvesting plants or animals faster than the population can replenish itself (ex. Ivory hunting on elephants, commercial fisheries, etc.)
People and their experiments
B.F. Skinner - Skinner box.
He put a rat in a box containing a lever that, when pushed, released food. The rat quickly learned to push it for food because he associated it with a reward. The strongest results typically occur when the reward is inconsistent.
Ivan Pavlov's experiment- Classical conditioning (associate an arbitrary stimulus with reward or punishment)
- simultaneously sprayed powdered meat into dogs mouth (this produced salivation), then he rang a bell, eventually dogs became conditioned to salivate when they heard the bell alone
Karl von Frisch- Bee waggle dance His work centered on investigations of the sensory perceptions of the honey bee and he was one of the first to translate the meaning of the waggle dance. His theory was disputed by other scientists and greeted with skepticism at the time. Only recently was it definitively proved to be an accurate theoretical analysis. 1) On a wall of the hive, they do a figure 8 while waggling a. Distance; proportional to number of waggles b. Direction: angle relative to vertical surface of hive= angle relative to sun 2) Regurgitate food so other bees know type available
Labs:
The Salamander Lab- The purpose of this lab was to see how environmental changes and natural selection calls for certain mutations and adaptations. The summary of data is that for each round, mutations happened to our salamanders and an environmental change would happen and depending on that mutation it was either beneficial or harmful to the salamander. Towards the last round, if there was more than one salamander in a box, then they all died. This is because there wasn’t enough food and resources for the salamanders to have, which is called competitive exclusion. This was a valid experiment because it showed us that mutations facilitate the changes in species and that through environmental change, natural selection will choose the mutations that survive and which ones will die off.
Summary:
Ecology is the distribution of organisms. In other words, why species are found where they are.
Ecology is the scientific study of interactions of organisms with one another and with the physical and chemical environment.
BIOMES
- Distribution of Organisms: Why are species found where they are?
- --Biotic Factors-living components of ecosystem
- Ex: Adaptations, Interactions with other species, Behavior and Habitat Selection,
- --A biotic Factors-non living components of ecosystems
- Ex: Temperature, Water, Sunlight, Wind, Rocks and Soil, Disturbances
- Ethology is the study of behavior in natural habitat, thought that behavior was based on instinct not thought.
- Comparative Psychology is the study of mental process underlying behavior
- Ex: learning, imprinting, associative learning, maturation
- Behavioral Ecology is the study of how behavior increases evolutionary fitness
- Ex: Foraging Behavior, Social Behavior
POPULATION ECOLOGYCOMMUNITY ECOLOGY
· Interaction between species- Competition (-,-) Predation (+,-) Mutualism (+,+) Commensalism (+,0) Parasitism (+,-)
· Diversity is stability
· Factors affecting diversity- environmental patchiness, keyston predators, competition
· Succesion is the transision in the dominant species through time- (primary succession and secondary succesion)
ECOSYSTEMS-
HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE BIOSPHERE
· Agriculutre (Industrialized agriculture and slash-and-burn agriculutre)
· Global Warming(Greenhouse gases, Greenhouse effect)
o The effects are melting of polar ice caps, change in precipitation patterns, and altered distributions and behaviors of species
o Solutions are minimizing the burinin of fossil fuels
· Depletion of the Ozone Layer (CFCs)
o Impacts are incresed incidence of skin cancer and cataracts, and harm to crops and other primary producers
o Solutions are CFCs are now banned
· Acid Rain (SOx and NOx)
o Impacts are lowers pH of soils and freshwater
· Loss of Biodiversity
Vocabulary words and definitions
Ethology: study of behavior in natural habitat; believed that behavior was based on instinct, not thought
Comparative psychology: study of mental processes underlying behavior; emphasized controlled, lab experiments
Habituation- Loss of responsiveness to stimuli that lack information
Imprinting- Learning limited to specific time of life called the critical period
Associative learning- associating one stimulus with another
Classical Conditioning- associate an arbitrary stimulus with reward or punishment (Ivan Pavlov)
Operant conditioning: associating a behavior with a reward or punishment (B.F. Skinner)
Maturation- Change in behavior resulting from changes in development.
Behavioral Ecology: study of how behavior increases evolutionary fitness
Optimal Foraging Theory: animal foraging strategies optimize benefits (energy gained) and minimize cost (energy used to find food)
Agnostic behavior: competition between two members of same species (fighting for food, mates...)
Dominance Hierarchies- Randing of status; maintains order within a group to minimize fighting
Territoriality- an individual (or group) has its own territory, which it defends ("Get off my turf holmes!")
Pheromones: chemical signals smelled by others (common in insects and mammals)
Monogamy: One male and one female
Polygamy: Many females and one male
Altruism- sacrificing yourself for the good of anothre
Reciprocity- help another individual in order to receive help later
Populations- individuals of the same species in a particular location
Communities- individuals of different spevies in a partivular location
Ecosystems- all living and non-living factors in a particular location
Biosphere- portin of earth inhabited by life
Group Selection- groups that help each other do better than the group that do not
Kin Selection- helps relatives because they share genes
Population Density- number of individuals per unit area
Population Distribution- clumped, uniform, or random
R-strategists- have many offspring but each has a small probability of surviving
K-strategists-produce fewer offspring, but each has a high probability of surviving
Competition- when two species rely on similar resources
Niche-ecological role of a species-resources it uses how it fits into the food web
Resource partitioning- two species utilize different parts of their niche to avoid competition
Predation-when one benefits from the others losses
Mimicry- One prey species resembles another
Batesian Mimicry- harmless species resembles a poisonous species
Mullerian Mimicry- two harful species resemble each other (bees, wasps)
Symbiosis-close association between two species
Mutualism-two species benefit each other
Commensalism- one species helps another but it is neither helped nor harmed in the relationship
Parasitism- parasite gets nutrients from the host
Primary Succession-begins with no living organisms (volcanic island)
Secondary Succession-begins with a disturbed community (fire)
Climax community-stable persists for a long time usually dominated by K strategists
Facilitative Interactions- one community paves the way for the next
Inhibitory Interactions- one community prevents the establishment of another
Trophic Levels - feeding the relationships within an ecosystem
Primary Producers - autotrophs; capture light energy of the sun and convert it into usable chemical energy (i.e. photosynthesis)
Primary consumers - heterotrophs; herbivores
Secondary consumers - heterotrophs; carnivores that eat herbivores
Tertiary Consumers - heterotrophs; carnivores that eat other carnivores
Decomposers - heterotrophs; Feed on dead organisms; recycle nutrients
Food web - illustrates movement of energy, most of energy is eventually lost as heat
Primary productivity - amount of light energy converted to chemical energy (organic compounds) via photoynthesis
Secondary productivity - amount of chemical energy in consumer's food that is converted to their own new biomass.
Trophic efficiency- % of energy used to produce a new biomass
Production efficiency- % of energy used to produce new biomass
Biomagnification- Toxins get more concentrated as you move up the trophic levels.
Water Cyle- Evaporation->Condensation->Precipitation->Runoff-> Percolation
Carbon Cyle- Photosythesis and Cellular Respiration; Light Energy+6Co2+6H20-> C6H1206+ 6O2; C6H12O6 +6O2-> 6CO2 +6H2O+36ATP
Eutophication- addition of nutrients to water, resulting in raid algal growth
Fragmentation- breaks habitat into patches (e.g. building a ski slope in a forest.)
Overexploitation- Harvesting plants or animals faster than the population can replenish itself (ex. Ivory hunting on elephants, commercial fisheries, etc.)
People and their experiments
B.F. Skinner - Skinner box.
He put a rat in a box containing a lever that, when pushed, released food. The rat quickly learned to push it for food because he associated it with a reward. The strongest results typically occur when the reward is inconsistent.
Ivan Pavlov's experiment- Classical conditioning (associate an arbitrary stimulus with reward or punishment)
- simultaneously sprayed powdered meat into dogs mouth (this produced salivation), then he rang a bell, eventually dogs became conditioned to salivate when they heard the bell alone
Karl von Frisch- Bee waggle dance
His work centered on investigations of the sensory perceptions of the honey bee and he was one of the first to translate the meaning of the waggle dance. His theory was disputed by other scientists and greeted with skepticism at the time. Only recently was it definitively proved to be an accurate theoretical analysis.
1) On a wall of the hive, they do a figure 8 while waggling
a. Distance; proportional to number of waggles
b. Direction: angle relative to vertical surface of hive= angle relative to sun
2) Regurgitate food so other bees know type available